If we had never taken risks we would all still be working out how to make fire and banging nuts with stones living on the West coast of Africa. I get that you think this is a big risk, a big gamble. Maybe it is but the whole "too hard" or what we have now is the best is a silly argument. It seems to be based on either the idea that "this is the best things will ever be" or "we are scared to change anything." I find it very hard to understand how people can continue with systems (worldwide) where they say "that's modernity" or "you can't change it, thats' globalisation for ya" while we borrow money to pay the rich people and continue and continue on the path. Lots of hard talk about rich people paying more. Even Cameron and Osborne talked the talk as did the Lib Dems (who still do) yet here we are with the Lib Dems talking about normal folks "paying a bit more" for health/social/aged care!!! At what point did they all meet with the moneymen and get told "you;re not getting anymore out of us" which they settled for? Corbyn policies "would" address this in theory however it is commonly accepted that the have will just move their money and we would lose out. When did the people settle for this "just being modernity" or "globalisation, nothing we can do." The system needs sorting....worldwide. And if everyone waits for each other then it will never change. Why not start here and lead. Back onto the climate change thing. Should we use the above excuses on that too? No point us doing anything because the rest of the world is still doing X and Y? Very different argument on that one. We should lead the world. We should change our practices. Doesn't matter if the rest of the world doesn't follow. The day that globalisation works for everyone and doesn;t use so many policies that contradict the social sentiment then I will support it. While it says "we need immigration because we have an ageing population, not just to work and pay pensions but also to care for our aging population," does no-one ever think "but then who is going to work and care for the aging populations where they came from? Seems to me that people with my opinions get slated on this argument yet it is those that support the policy that couldn;t give a flying fig about the rest of the world. Lets just strip the rest of the world of their doctors, surgeons, engineers. Keep the rest in their place as long as we're alright Jack. It is about time the people of the world (everywhere) said enough is enough and all these SJWs refused to buy iphones, Samsungs, big tellys.....stopped moaning about leave voters and rich bankers while they sip yet another overpriced coffee in Costa or Starbucks and actually made a real stand. Do the likes of Lineker moaning all day long boycott any of these things? Does he donate the majority of his wedge to charity living a reasonable life instead of a superb life? No, he moans at poor normal people while he lives the life. Lots of people on here (and everywhere else) giving it the big talk about concern for this, concern for that, concern for the whole world yet they think nothing of stripping skills from other countries and they are quite happy to keep on filling up the coffers of the very companies that have told our politicans (and everyone elses) that they are not going to pay any extra. Did not Starbucks say openly when they questioned a few years ago that they contributed more to the tax pot (through employers/employees) income tax than most companies in the UK? And they thought that was fine to say in the open!! There is an article somewhere that I forgot to bookmark on a financial viewpoint that slates the finance sector. Supposedly anywhere from 20 - 60% of our economy dependent on what you read yet this article was stating they only contribute 12% to the tax fund. But hey, lets keep on this track. Lets keep on moaning. Lets keep them in charge of things. Lets keep paying them from our borrowed money. Someone else needs to move first. Too risky to do it ourselves. And this is the risk the Tories and everyone else takes here. I have said it before. Corbyn has already gathered his idealist following that believe his ideology is the way. There are plenty of people who think it is a disastroud way forward but are very prepared to vote for him in the very near future just to smash the system up. I daresay that many people voted Trump thinking along the same lines. Not because of racism, not because they liked what he offered, just to smash the system up. Who knows. The same might happen with Corbyn. He might get in, the resistance to any change be too much and he does a bit of tinkering rather than any "swamp draining."
The bookies (and the financial gamblers) said it would go the other way last time. Heavily, and the amount of money the gamblers in the city hedged on it nearly crashed their own operations.
The EU has spoken from the beginning about extensions. It can be extended IF the EU 27 agree to the extension.
The media briefed against Brexit and it won. They still brief against Brexit. Corbyn's own support is not enough to win an election..........however angry non Corbynists theat end up as a mixture of "Oh f*** it, Corbyn voters" and abstainers would more than likely tip him into majority territory. The left proved at the last election they are getting organised with tactical voting and with the mass amounts of students these days they all have 2 choices of where to tip the balance. Hence bellweathers like Lincoln now becoming not bellweather due to the 15%+ student population in the constituency. They decide who the MP for these cities is now. We live with the choice of people passing through for 2-3 years before buggering off to London or Manchester with their degrees.
Did you feel the same way prior to the 1997 election. What I felt in the lead-up was a sense of optimism sweeping through the country which sadly disappeared during Blair´s third term. You have to admit that Blair and Campbell had the press onside during their time together in No 10. Don´t we miss those glorious days of New Labour? I know I do as a good mood swept over the country that we had neither previously or since (apart from 1966 when Harold Wilson was elected and England won the World Cup, and in the summer of love in 2012 with the London Olympics.
When Labour activists and supporters are more bothered about earning popularity and money themselves, while pretending it is all about "the cause" then there is no hope of that. People like Owen Jones are more bothered about getting out there, selling books to their tribe and fighting a war of numbers "my march is bigger then yours" than actually being concerned about progress. They don't go on telly or the web to advance things. They go on there to feel important and to feel like they are a new hierarchy. The "literally a communist" woman does not understand even the "nice version of communism" she espouses while she racks up the earnings and appearance fees living a nice life. And yes the far right tossers are the same...arguing for the cause, building followers, earning a mint. Yaxley Lennon in his nice £750k house et al.
Timing there. Said it before but there was a feelgood factor building from '93/4 onward. And yes it probably gee'd people up to say "things can be good" and fell for the Blair salespitch. But the feelgood factor was already happening before he even won the Labour leadership. I guess you could say the opposite now. There is anger rather than hope, and anger may well just tip the scales to using the Corbyn destruct button. Being talked about a lot on platforms that just a few years ago would vote for a blue rosette if it came round their house and charged you to leave your front door.
What? The Mail, Express, Sun and Telegraph? I think these are the papers that maybe 70% of people either buy or read at some point during the week.
I´d welcome a doublé act of Chuka and Soubry!! Actually, I feel these two are destined for a life in the media industry together, presenting some form of current affairs program. Could even succeed Ant and Dec?
So, to summarise the last couple of pages: Ides wants Labour to return to being more right wing than the Tory Party, with a media-friendly mouthpiece. Imps hates everyone, especially students.
You've also got the BBC who will give Farage a free platform to peddle his Crash Brexit nonsense at any time. A man so in touch with the will of the people that he's failed seven times to become an MP. Seven. Vin
I don´t think Alaistair Campbell, Prescot, Chris Smith, Gordon Brown, David Blunkett, Harriet Harman, are at all right-wing. They managed to help get a Labour Government elected three times, because Labour were doing good things like investing in new schools, like improving conditions for working families, like extending nursery education. Did you work in the NHS Chilcs and if I recall further sections were privatised under the Blair premiership, but that aside there were a lot of positives to celebrate under Labour between 1997 and 2010.
Again, your problem here is with Capitalism as a system. However, in the whole of human history capitalism is then only agreed upon form of society that doesn’t lead to us all murdering each other. Yes, the system isnt the best for the poorer classes, but the system generally rewards those who add value to society. Lord sugar’s Tweet yesterday about paying £59mil in tax this year - enough to build a hospital illustrates this perfectly. People giving him abuse on twitter, yet someone like him has created countless jobs and wealth for our country. The capitalist system isn’t perfect, but compared to any know alternative it isn’t by far the best. The way I see it, the people That are the unhappiest with this are those that take more than they contribute anyway.
Soubry used to be our news presenter on Grampian TV many moons ago. I heard her speak at the Peoples Vote march at Parliament Square a few weeks back, and very clear and compelling she was too.
Nobody reads papers anymore. Metro has the highest circulation and thats only because it is free and people read it on the tube. BBC 6 o clock news alone is watched by 4 million. add on ITV news, CH4 news, all the others 1pm/10pm etc. TV media absolutely dominates this field, not papers that no-one reads.
Yes, New Labour took over and extended the internal market in the NHS which Thatcher had started. Still there, and the NHS hangs on despite it. Blair also started the Private Finance Initiative where firms like Carillion (remember them?) built hospitals badly and charged the nation a fortune for it. New Labour also deregulated the banks, and look where that got us! And lest we forget, Blair took us into the Iraq war based on a raft of complete and utter lies.
